Remember the Perodua Ativa Hybrid and its all-inclusive leave programme four years ago? Well it appears that the compact crossover will finally be entering local production (CKD). According to a report by Bernama, Perodua president and CEO Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin confirmed the plans, with the announcement made during the official visit of Japanese Ambassador
Remember the Perodua Ativa Hybrid and its all-inclusive leave programme four years ago? Well it appears that the compact crossover will finally be entering local production (CKD).
According to a report by Bernama, Perodua president and CEO Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin confirmed the plans, with the announcement made during the official visit of Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Noriyuki Shikata, to the company’s factory in Rawang.
However, an official announcement will follow once Perodua has ironed all the important details, such as pricing and production timeline.
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Previously, Perodua introduced a limited batch of 300 units under an all-inclusive lease programme. Those lucky to make the cut had to pay RM 500 monthly for a five-year lease with a 100,000 km mileage cap.
The purpose of the programme was to gather real-world data for the hybrid powertrain under Malaysian usage or driving habits, with a decision to be made on Perodua’s foray into electrification. This was further detailed with an onboard telematics system to monitor driving behaviour.
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The Ativa Hybrid leased here was essentially a rebadged Daihatsu Rocky e-Smart Hybrid. It ran a series hybrid setup, just like Nissan’s e-Power system. Only the electric motor drives the front wheels, with all of its 106 PS and 170 Nm. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine functions primarily as a generator to recharge the battery.
While details on the Ativa Hybrid have yet to be confirmed, there is no reason for it to be different from the Daihatsu e-Smart Hybrid system on the earlier version.
On the topic of wider collaboration with Daihatsu for additional EV development in the country, Zainal explained the main hurdle was EV charging infrastructure, or rather the lack of it, as he believes the number of chargers is still insufficient. Daihatsu currently holds a 20% stake in Perodua.
Perodua also received around 1.5 billion yen (~ RM37 million) from the Global South Fund that will be used to support Japanese hybrid technology development in Malaysia.